HIRINGINSIGHTS

A disciplined person is one who recognizes the consequences of not adhering to the system and is committed to not corrupting the system. People who are truly committed do not fear the consequences.

First, what are the consequences of violating a hiring system? In the Bible, the Gospel of Matthew 7:15-20, it is written, “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.”

Taking this parable, and applying it to your hiring system, you can see how a team member not committed to the hiring system will “come to you in sheep’s clothing” while corrupting the system by hiring a friend or a “star.” In the parable the bad tree is cut down and thrown into the fire. The team member who violates the system must face the consequences.

There are two ways we need to consider the consequences. First, what are the consequences to the organization when the hiring system is violated? We will probably have a mis-hire. We will damage the team because we allowed the bad behavior of a team member to go unchallenged. We will have morale problems as team members try to work with the mis-hire. We will lose credibility with our stakeholders as we are viewed as people who do not do what they say and allow bad behavior to go unchallenged. Financially, we will have to make budget decisions to compensate for the cost of the mis-hire and our profitability overall will be reduced. And, if this person had customer contact, what might be the consequences for us with those customers? Might we lose some customers? We will probably lose some very good customers. Consequences. And all of this could have been avoided by adhering to the system.